Since Levi was born we’ve been living in a collection of moments. It seems like it’s just been a few days since we left the hospital, not over a month. Our days have been filled with snuggles, bottles, pumping, breastfeeding, reading, playing, and countless doctors appointments. Levi was born with Jaundice and we had to measure his intake very carefully in order to get his numbers in a normal range – so I had to start pumping and measuring out his bottles. I so desperately wanted to breastfeed him exclusively but when he had trouble getting back up to his birth weight the measuring of milk continued which pushed us further away from our goal. But, he’s healthy, he’s gaining weight, and most importantly he’s here.
I still can’t believe there was a time where we thought we wouldn’t get to see his face, hold him, or kiss him. Every minor setback is just that – minor. In comparison to what we could have faced. I am going to take my sweet time getting “settled” into being a momma of two little ones. I don’t want to rush a thing – I want to savor every moment that I am thankful and work through every moment that I am overwhelmed (and believe me, there have been a lot). But with each rough moment, I come out stronger.
We’re still working on our sleep schedule and I’m lucky to still have William home to help (for a few more days) before returning to work full-time. Levi likes to stay up all night – this kid is a NIGHT OWL. He wakes up around 11 and is wide awake for most of the night. He sleeps but only in small chunks and wakes frequently. He will not sleep in his bassinet and prefers to sleep in the snuggle nest that is in our bed. This makes our already full sized bed that much smaller which means William and I often wake to arms and legs that are asleep, butts that are falling off the bed, and other various uncomfortable situations. But at 3am when you haven’t gotten a wink of sleep – you’d curl up pretty much anywhere to get a moments rest, so we deal with it. Wyatt wakes up around 7am and at this time Levi is ready for bed – which means Levi and I stay in bed until around 10 or 11 before waking up for the day. It’s backwards I tell you, backwards. Come Monday when William returns to work I will be a walking zombie and I’m frantically trying to figure out a way to sync everyone’s schedules to keep my sanity.
But the in-between is the best part. In-between sleeping and being awake, those quite moments with Levi in the middle of the night when just the two of us are awake. Snuggled up under a warm blanket while I hold him and listen to his little coo’s. It’s so wonderful. And I’ve been stealing a lot of those moments with Wyatt too, like last night when instead of putting him to bed and leaving the room – I laid with him and played with his hair and stroked his cheeks until we both fell asleep. It’s so important to me that I keep these moments, with them both.
So, that’s that.
That’s what we’ve been up to.
Now if you have any tips on changing a little smooshy baby’s sleep schedule PLEASE let me know!
Oh I am right there with you. My son just turned one and sleeps at the very most 4 hours in a 24 hour period. He will not sleep unless you are walking around carrying him over your shoulder. If you try to sit or put him down, he wakes up or just starts crying. Some days {like last night} he slept for 2 mins at a time and it took two hours to get him back to “bed” only to wake back up 2 mins later. He finally fell asleep at 4am-6am. Then wide awake and ready for a long day with no naps again. He has been doing this for 12 months now and there is no hope in sight. My daughter had a similar sleep issue and finally started sleeping through the night right before her 4th birthday. I never get any sleep and am exhausted and a zombie all the time. Plus on top of it, we are about to have baby number 3 next month and I’m so scared about how to deal with no kids sleeping. I’m terrified actually. Most people ask me why I just don’t drug my son so he will sleep at night. I am very against that…so that is not an option. Maybe for some, but not for me. I guess I just wait it out. I’ve done everything suggested and researched I can think of. And yet, there is still nothing that has helped or worked. So hang in there… I’m glad to know I’m not the only one suffering with a baby that doesn’t sleep or let me rest
Geez! I am basically running on coffee! Congrats on baby #3 – that is so exciting! Let’s stay strong and just pretend we get 8 hours of sleep each night!
Audrey always wakes up at 10pm and stays up for 2-3 hours. Then she sleeps in short spurts with another awake period from 2am to 5am. Then she’s out for most of the day with small awake times. Emma wakes up at 7am too. Unfortunately my husband works evenings and late nights so him getting up with Emma isn’t usually an option. I’ve been a zombie for a while. And now that Emma doesn’t nap I get no respite. I feel your pain and I will be praying for next week.
Yes! That’s how my schedule is too! William wakes up for work at 5am so he can’t help out during the night so I’m just awake ALL the time. Oh, brother. I’m praying for us both!
Oh a night owl? He can come hang out with me ๐
Yes, he’s yours! Come over and hang out with him while I sleep! ๐